Ryan McBride/Staff photographer
Mike Pelletier, 12, sister Brandi, center, of Rollinsford and Shadai Gosselin of Somersworth race down Garrison Hill in Dover after just one of many snowfalls this winter season.

DOVER — In like a lion and out like a lamb?

Thursday night’s storm left anywhere from one to 12 inches of snow across the state, but temperatures will be close to 50 degrees this weekend, melting much if not all that fresh new powder away.

AccuWeather’s Steve Travis said the storm, which affected many parts of the country, brought more rain than what was anticipated to New Hampshire, adding that storms in mid-March tend to be a headache for meteorologists because they have to determine where the colder arctic air mass breaks in from the north and where the eastern and southern moisture will factor in.

“I believe as a whole we performed fairly well,” he said of their predictions, “aside from the coastal cities.”

Coastal towns saw easterly winds that brought in ocean air, accumulating more rain than snow, but Travis said oceanfront Seabrook was also the “bull’s-eye” of the storm in Rockingham County, receiving just over a foot of snow.

Greenland measured in at 10 inches and North Hampton received seven inches. Dover came in at just 4.5 inches.

“One town that was interesting was Wells, Maine,” Travis said.

Four miles south of the town saw 7 inches while one measurement just southeast of it saw only four inches, proving how difficult of a storm this was to track.

A number of coastal towns dealt with flooding issues Friday, with some road closures along the sea wall to protect vehicles.

As the storm hit the Seacoast and high tide made its way in, the Rye and North Hampton police departments closed 1-A/Ocean Boulevard from the intersection of Appledore Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in North Hampton due to flooding, small debris and large boulders in the roadway.

The road was open again by the afternoon on Friday.

“We will see the highest waves and significant flooding dwindle in the next six to 12 hours, certainly by daytime Saturday,” Travis said. “Winds will be light and the low at that point will be very much offshore, which will help the flooding die down over the next couple of days.”

There were few accidents reported, but State Police in the Bedford area said they responded to motor vehicle crashes on Route 93. There was also an accident reported in Durham Friday, but no information had been released by press time and it had not been determined if it was storm related.

“The storm was certainly complex,” Travis said, “It impacted much of the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday and moved its way up the Northeast coast and that is when it impacted more of New England. It was a very progressive pattern.”

The bulk of the storm is offshore now, with lingering showers still dwindling across eastern Long Island, N.Y.

“We’re really just dealing with clouds right now and we’re anticipating they’ll be out in the next 12 hours,” Travis said.

Saturday and Sunday are both expected to be filled with sunshine and temperatures in the mid-40s in Dover. Travis said Sunday’s high is 46 degrees, which is five to 10 degrees above average.

Light rain will move into the region on Tuesday, with temperatures in the low 50s.

“This will be the first real preview of spring that we see,” Travis said, adding much of the snow will be “pretty much gone” by the middle of next week.